Chiefs UDFA Spotlight: Vanderbilt QB Kyle Shurmur

Kyle Shurmur’s career at Vanderbilt has been marked with improvement in consecutive years since his freshman season. He really started to come on and show NFL caliber ability during his junior season with the team.

As a starter at Vanderbilt, Shurmur broke a ton of QB records previously held by long time NFL QB Jay Cutler. He eclipsed Cutler in both career and single season records for passing yards and touchdowns.

Shurmur had a really strong passer rating from a clean pocket during the past two seasons at Vanderbilt, including the best mark among SEC quarterbacks during the 2018 season. He throws with accuracy, touch and can make passes at all levels of the field. He doesn’t, however, have the reputation of having an overly strong arm.

He’s a smart kid, earning SEC academic honor roll honors in each of his four years at Vanderbilt. He’s also a smart player who knows when to climb the pocket, buy more time or throw the football away.

Highlights:

Fit with the Chiefs:

At one point during the 2019 offseason the Chiefs had six quarterbacks on the roster. Since then EJ Manuel has retired to become a broadcaster and Wagner UDFA QB T.J. Linta has been waived with an injury settlement. That leaves Shurmur as the last new QB standing among the Chiefs’ ranks.

Shurmur is in a position where he’ll be competing head-to-head with Chase Litton for that No. 3 QB spot. He has the advantage of being the son of an NFL head coach (Pat Shurmur – Giants). What typically comes with that is an advanced knowledge of the game, and Shurmur definitely has it. He’s an unnaturally mature decision maker with the ball in his hands.

Shurmur has ideal size and mobility to operate the Chiefs offensive scheme. He’ll probably earn the game manager reputation similar to former Chiefs QB Alex Smith, but as we’ve learned in the past that isn’t always a bad thing.

There’s a scenario where the Chiefs keep both Shurmur and Litton, but it’d mean one of those players will likely be spending the 2019 season on the practice squad and the other would make the roster. Keep in mind, the Chiefs only had two quarterbacks on the roster last season.